This invention relates to an apparatus for separating foreign material from feed, and more particularly such apparatus being adapted to be used in combination with power driven feeding equipment utilizing a trough tracing a closed path with a feed conveyor or distributor means moving through the trough.
In feed systems of the type described above, which can be more generally termed automatic feeding systems, a problem continuously arises in that the feed collects foreign matter as a result of bedding, droppings and other undesirable foreign matter falling into the trough with the feed. The whole mixture of feed and such foreign matter then travels along the trough and builds up a collection to the point that the feed may become saturated with non-edible material requiring cleaning to allow the feeding system to operate effectively. Manual cleaning, of course, is time consuming, difficult to carry out effectively and hence costly.
Many attempts have been made in the past to automatically accomplish this separation. Various combinations of pushing the mixture from the trough into a screen rotated by a complicated series of gears and shafts having buckets or cups to transfer the feed from a well to a chute back into the trough have been constructed. These devices are costly to construct, difficult to assemble and rough in operation. Their structure is such that a great deal of power is needed to operate them because of the necessity of moving the feed over a relatively large distance. This causes wear and tear on all parts involved and lowers the efficiency of the device. Also, the disadvantages listed above become critical in high speed applications resulting in thrown feed which is both wasteful and messy.
A greatly improved device over these prior art attempts was developed utilizing a cylindrical screen rotatable on an axis transverse to the trough which caused the feed to be picked up into the screen and sifted directly back into the trough keeping foreign matter within the confines of the screen. Such a device is described and illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,985,302 issued May 23, 1961 to Jan Brands and commonly assigned to the assignee of the subject application. While the type of separator described in the above identified patent is quite effective, it is further desired to improve on such systems in both an economical and functional manner. For example, it is desired to provide an automatic separation of foreign matter from the feed without diverting the feed in any substantial manner from its movement through the trough. Thus, there is a need in this art for an improved apparatus for separating foreign matter from feed.